The Affinity Cocktail is a classic whiskey-based cocktail that showcases the balance and harmony of its ingredients. It's a refined and sophisticated drink that's perfect for any occasion.
This one dates back to the 1800s at Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City. Delmonico’s rich history dates back 200 years. It’s considered to be the first fine dining restaurant in the US, and gave us dishes like Eggs Benedict, Baked Alaska, Wedge Salad, and Delmonico Stake. It also gave us this classic gin-based cocktail that’s balanced with cognac and vermouth. Give this recipe a try if you enjoy a Martinez or a Wet Martini.
The Lucien Gaudin is a classic gin cocktail named after the French Olympic fencer. It has the bitterness of Campari with gin, a nod to the Negroni, but with dry vermouth rather than sweet vermouth.
The cocktail appeared in print in MacElhone (1927), by Harry MacElhone, the proprietor of Harry's New York Bar in Paris. The cocktail appears, not in the main list of recipes, but in the essay "Cocktails About Town" by Arthur Moss, which describes cocktails by men-about-town; this essay also includes the boulevardier. The Old Pal is credited to William "Sparrow" Robinson, a sports editor for The New York Herald in Paris, while the "old pal" refers to Moss, to whom it is dedicated. The cocktail is described as:
I remember way back in 1878, on the 30th of February to be exact, when the Writer was discussing this subject with my old pal "Sparrow" Robertson and he said to yours truly, "get away with that stuff, my old pal, here's the drink I invented when I fired the pistol the first time at the old Powderhall foot races and you can't go wrong if you put a bet down on 1/3 Canadian Club, 1/3 Eyetalian [Italian] Vermouth, and 1/3 Campari," and then he told the Writer that he would dedicate this cocktail to me and call it, My Old Pal.
Cocktail Recipes